Sara Rouizem
First Marking Period As my bus screeched to a stop, I jump up and fling my bag on my back for the last time today. The bus driver salutes me and tells me to have a nice rest of the day. Yeah right, I think, how can you possibly have a good day when you have so much homework? I'll be up until midnight trying to complete it all! Ugh! Instead of saying that, I reply politely, "Thanks, you too. See you tomorrow." He nods as I step out of the yellow vehicle. I run across the street to my temporary home. The reason why I say temporary is that I'm currently living in an apartment that my dad's friend owns. It is well finished and has a kitchen, bathroom, and bedrooms. It's actually pretty nice. Oh, and by the way, I'm Lillian Robener .(one entry) I was adopted the day I was born so I don't remember my real parents. I'm second to youngest. I have two brothers, and another sister. Their names are Elisabeth, Noah, and Adam. I've always felt like they were family, but I look different. Noah and I get along really well. Adam is youngest and is really sweet. He's starting first grade is always the one to get everyone cheered up and excited for no reason. I think it's some sort magic you're capable of as a kid. With Elisabeth though, let's just say: it's another story. I'm sure you'll see what I mean after a while. Elisabeth is sixteen and eldest which makes her think she's perfect and we are all lower-ranked than her. Really, three quick words sum her up well: Such a pain. The worst thing about it is that she thinks the same about me. (one entry) I climb the stairs to the third floor. I tun to the left and make my way down the long hall. 341, 342, 343...346. I glance up at the bold, black numbers printed on a shiny golden plaque. I see the stray mark Adam accidentally made when he was drawing a few days ago. I rub my finger on it to try it get it off. After being satisfied with the result, I twist the door handle and push it open. As usual, Elisabeth is home because she drives a car, therefore she is obviously much quicker than a bus. She doesn't have the heart to let me ride home with her. I throw my backpack with a little more strength than I intended it to have and it soars across the living space and into the bedroom I share with Elisabeth. Since the bag wasn't completely closed, a book comes out and accidentally hits the magenta bean bag my sister is sitting on. "Hey!" she cries. She shakes her head and rolls her eyes. I sigh. "Sorry," I quietly mutter under my breath. In the pantry, I spot a bag of chocolate-covered pretzels and grab it. Finding a bowl, I practically dump the whole bag in it. Don't judge! I love them! I mean, seriously- who doesn't? (one entry) Now, I get to work. I start doing it in the order in which my classes are in. I start with Social Studies, then Science, English, and so on. Surprisingly, I finish just in the nick of time. As I scribble the last words of my Literacy homework, my mom calls us over to set the dinner table.Wow, I tell myself, that was quicker than I expected! I guess efficiency really does the trick! I do a quick double-check that I did everything, and to my surprise, I did! I shove my binders and folders back into my bag, making sure it's ready for another day at school. After setting down my backpack near the door, I hurry into the kitchen to grab the plates. As I start putting them down on the table, Noah arrives to get the cutlery. Elisabeth reaches for the glasses, while Adam finishes off the job by folding and carefully tucking the napkins underneath the plates. (one entry) "Okay Robeners, time for dinner!" mom exclaims, clearly excited. Finally, my father arrives, and we all have a seat. I look at the bounty of food my mom had placed on the table. My mouth starts to water. How can it not? Look at it all, I mean the bread, teriyaki chicken, fruits, vegetables, soups, sausages, and more! Mom definitively had some sort of surprise up her sleeve. I focus my gaze on Noah, the one in the family who is also know as the observer and investigator. He also seems to have the same idea. Noah cocks his head and looks intently at my mom. He finally asks, "Mom, why are you so happy?" She smiles and replies softly, "We found a house! Stacey and I visited a wonderful home. It's really perfect. The house as five bedrooms and four bathrooms. Stacey is a wonderful realtor! We'll all see it after school tomorrow. Your father and I have taken a few hours off our workday to visit it with you." I look around the table and see smiles on everyone's faces except for Adam's. My facial expression returns to being neutral. Curious about his frown, I question him, " Adam, why the long face? Aren't you excited?" I turn to mom, " I have to say, I'm really bubbling with joy." (one entry) Second Marking Period Adam answers me, " I don't want my own room! There are always monsters under my bed, and Noah makes them go away."I spot a smile peek from the corner of my dad's mouth. I grin back at him and raise my eyebrows as if to say, Don't try hiding it, I see that smile. Giving up, he let's it out. Dad replies, still grinning: "Adam, if you don't what the room to yourself, we can make the extra room a guest room. Noah are you alright with that?" "Sure, as long as we get the biggest room! Right buddy?" Noah exclaims enthusiastically. Adam nods and smiles, extending his hand. The boys fist-bump. I smile. I love my family, even Elisabeth. I'm so lucky to always have them by my side. After dinner, I get ready for bed. I tuck into the covers and close my eyes. Today was a long day. I'm glad it's over! (one entry) I awake with a start. I'm no longer in my room. Looking around, nothing seems familiar. Panic starts building up inside of me. What if I'm stuck here forever? Where's mom? Will I ever see our apartment or new house? Where is Elisabeth? Am I safe? I shudder at the thoughts that are constantly passing in my head. What have I done? I try to recall the events that had occurred before I had ended up here. Did I trigger something in my sleep? Had I sleep-walked again? Just then, I realized I was in my regular clothes-- the ones I had worn yesterday. I noticed the grease smudge I had gotten when a piece of sausage had fallen on my shirt. I was sure that I had changed into my pajamas though! I try to push all the negative thoughts out of my head. After brushing off the dirt on my jeans, I get up and walk around, trying to memorize the area and figure out where I really was. It was not very successful, if you ask me. I search some more, but at this point, everything seems to look the same. Finally, I give up my hunt and sit down on a boulder nearby. Desperate and miserable, I exclaim: "MOM! Are you out there? Elisabeth? Someone?" (one entry) Suddenly, I remember that I had left my phone in my pocket the night before and pull it out. Maybe I could call them! Or 911! I try, not really expecting any of them to answer their phones. For all I know, they're asleep! I call Mom, then Dad, I try Noah next, then the home phone. No one answers. I personally didn't want to call Elisabeth because she would say I was an irresponsible child and make sure I got punished. I waited a while, hoping I could maybe get a call back. Nothing comes though. What ever, I think, at this point, they downright didn't receive the calls. Guess it's time to give calling Elisabeth a go. Oh my, if she answers, she'll kill me. It's better than dying here, I'm getting really hungry and thirsty. I grab the phone. It's really almost dead, I'd better make this quick. After dialing her number, I press the phone to my ear. "Hello?" I hear from the phone. I gasp. (one entry) "Elisabeth? Is that you? This is Lillian." I cry, eyes wide. " Yeah, it's Elisabeth. I kind of have a situation here, Lillian. I need help." What?, I think, I have a situation! Is she experiencing this too? Our room must be cursed! "You do? Me too! I woke up, and I was in the middle of a forest! Sure, the area is beautiful, but boy, I want to go home. I'm exhausted. Where are you? Let's meet up! We need to find a way to leave this place. I'm next to a huge waterfall. Do you see it?" "I agree. So you're at the waterfall? Okay then. I'll meet you there. I'm probably a mile or two away from it, I'm not completely sure. We'll discuss our problem when I get there. Find a nice place in the shade please. I'll be there in a bit. I'll call you if I'm not with you in an hour." "Sounds good! See you soon! Bye." I hang up, bubbling with joy-- I was so excited. I wasn't alone! Okay, now my mission was to find a place in the shade and maybe shelter, food, a close source of fresh water, and explore the area some more! I have a lot of work to do! Better get started! Don't want to be late to see Elisabeth. (one entry) I've been here waiting for Elisabeth for three hours. I don't get it. What happened to her? Did she get lost? I go around the waterfall completely. No sign of her. I venture a bit deeper into the woods and walk around the perimeter of the trees. Finally, I decide she got lost and call her.This is really weird, she said she would call me if she didn't show up in an hour! Three of them have already passed! Maybe she fell asleep? Or she got hurt? Maybe she ended up going in the complete different direction. What if... Dreadful images go through my head as I consider those thoughts. What if I'm right? What if she did die? Finally, I just call her. I've waited long enough. She doesn't answer. What if, she transported back home and I was stuck here forever?I cringe my teeth and shudder. This might not be the happily-ever-after life I hoped to have. (one entry) I spend the rest of the day looking for Elisabeth. Where is she? I keep walking until I could no longer stand. Enervated, I fall flat on my back. I close my eyes, enjoying the silence around me. Nonetheless, I had a mission: find my sister. I make a map of the area on the dirt near me with a stick. I was really good with directions, and I knew pretty much where everything in the woods was at this point. Looking for my sister was a cumbersome job, but it had to be done. I sit up, my energy renewed. Starved, I munch on nearby grass. Ewww! Oh gosh, I would have never expected that I'd ever be eating this. But this thing is turning into a survival mission. Oh well, I'll have to deal with what I've got, I think miserably. I make my way back to the waterfall. Bored, I think back to the past couple of days. I was at school most to the time, except over the weekend. Realization finally strikes me. Today is Tuesday, I should be at school. What if mom and dad can't find me? Maybe they called the cops. What if Elisabeth is with them? These thoughts sound so awful that I decide to keep looking for my sister. She had told me earlier that she was a few miles away. Maybe I should venture farther down into the forest? My sister has to be somewhere! (one entry) It was near midnight. Trudging along, I see a shadowy figure on the ground up ahead. It's simply a rock, I think. As I keep walking, the shape begins to look strangely familiar... that's because it was! Lying there was Elisabeth! I had finally found her. I shook her awake and she screamed: "Lilliane, is that you?" I replied by nodding gleefully. What a surprise for both of us! She wraps her arms around me and I follow suit. I had never been happier to see her in my life. We say goodnight to each other and fall into a deep sleep... (one entry) I groan and cover my head with a pillow to avoid it: the hideous beeping noise that comes from a horrendous creature/machine called an alarm. This process unfortunately happens daily. Wait a second, I think, sitting up, I'm in my mattress, in my room, in the apartment, with Elisabeth! I get up and go to Elisabeth, just to make sure it wasn't all a dream. After tapping her shoulder repeatedly, she opens her eyes, looks around the room and exclaims: "We're back!" I smile at her and nod, my face light up. Elisabeth and I have been best friends ever since. (one entry) Third Marking Period Daydreams Daydreams, Found in a notion, a dream, a feeling. they capture you, hold you for ransom, they won't let you go. Daydreams see your thoughts, they dig deep inside your mind, making you look around, blankly. All of a sudden, you forget, everything, until they leave, you can't come back. (one entry) The Night Dark and mysterious, It stares at you with its round pale eye the sun, runs to hide in the shadows, letting the twilight reign. Evil jet-black eyes watch your every move, grinning mischievously. All dreamers are victims, to these twelve hours of gloaming. Stay away, humans, for you might be next. Beware, this time of darkness, is a powerful thing, and it could drag you down into its murkiness, Forever. (one entry) It all started out on a normal Friday morning-- I was having breakfast alongside my brother, Caleb and my twin sisters, Harper and Avery. My usual routine consisted of getting up, dressing, eating, brushing my teeth and waiting for the bus to arrive. I was doing the third out of five things I was supposed to do that morning. "I'm so glad it's Friday, it was such a long week! Don't you guys think so?" I asked my family. "No, to me it went by super fast! It was like Monday, then, whoosh! Kaboom! Bang! It's Frriiddaayyyy!" Caleb replied, grinning from ear to ear. Caleb was always very enthusiastic and loved using onomatopoeia when he spoke. My sisters, although identical, had nothing alike, except their faces. Harper was known for being the nerd in the family, always ready with an 'interesting fact' (they usually aren't to me) about something to do with school. Avery was the super popular and sporty one in our house. Constantly either dribbling a basketball around, or chatting to all her so called 'cool' friends in the world's biggest group chat. (one entry) "Uhuh." Avery replied, not looking up, too concentrated on her fingers, furiously texting. "Were we talking? Oh, sorry, can you repeat what was just said?" Harper questioned, finally lifting her head from the dictionary-sized book she was deeply engrossed in. Smiling and shaking my head, I tell her: "Yeah, I was just saying that this week has gone by really slowly and I'm glad that it's Friday. Caleb disagrees. That's all, nothing much you missed." "Cool, okay. Hey Logan, are you going to eat that orange?" Harper said, pushing up her glasses. I shake my head and hand it to her. "Thanks." "No problem." Harper turned to face Avery, who was still texting. She asked: "Don't you ever get bored of texting? Plus whatever you say is technically public, there are so many people on that chat! Do you even know half of those people?" "Nope. I actually do know a lot more people on here than you think. My contacts list is GIGANTIC. Ooh!! Alexa is online! TTYL, Harper!" Harper and I make eye contact and roll eyes at each other. Once we lock eyes, we start cracking up. (one entry) The twins are both in sixth grade, and I'm in eighth. Caleb is the youngest, being in third grade.We usually get along, although there are some incidents every once in awhile-- the twins are still sharing a room. Avery is usually the one complaining: "Why do we still have to share a room? How come Logan and Caleb get their own rooms and always have had their own rooms? Sharing a room is so not cool, especially when you disagree so much with the other person!" Mom would always have the same response: "Sharing is caring and caring is sharing. Until you prove to me that you and Harper can get along, be good friends and sisters, you can't have your own rooms. If you did, there would be no chance of a strong relationship." "Really? Why does life have to be this way? It's like you're forcing us to be friends! No true friendship is forced." "I can't let you two never talk to each other. I already can't stand it when you have fights, what will it be like when you act as if you are complete strangers to each other? I know Harper is making efforts, but you aren't even trying. It really bothers me to see how much you don't care." "I don't know." "Well, I do, so listen to what I'm saying-- you'll need it." "Uhuh." Avery grabs a basketball and runs down to the garage to shoot some baskets. I've noticed that usually calms her down. (one entry) As for me, you might be wondering what I'm like. I consider myself to be a held back and contained kind of person. Everything happens in my head, and usually ends up on paper. I study the different behaviors of my family, so I'm usually the one who knows why someone is acting the way they are. I rarely worry, and I observe a lot. Not to compliment myself, but I do think before I speak. Unlike Avery and Caleb, I'm not a huge fan of colors. Harper and I tend to be more alike than Harper is with Avery. It's like Avery and I accidentally switched places, she being the rebellious teen and I the nerdy twin. One problem-- we were born two years apart. (one entry) Fourth Marking Period Chapter 2: Courtney's Secret Room Later on at school, I meet up with my best friend, Alice. Alice is pretty much like me, but in a very peppy and enthusiastic way. To me, she is a combination of Caleb and me: with my age and the shy, observant, and smart part of her personality. She's bright and colorful, always making someone smile, just like Caleb. "Hey Logan! What's up? How was your night? Can I join you to your locker? Just a minute, let me see my advisory teacher to see if I can come." Alice exclaims as she does every morning. She skips away into a hallway about 15 lockers away. Here at the middle school, we measure everything by lockers instead of feet, yards, or even city blocks. Believe it or not, our school, Willow Bay Middle School, is about eight city blocks in diameter. I've noticed that compared to other schools, our lockers are really big. They're about three feet wide and four feet tall. We have two shelves at the top of each and dozens of hooks all over the sides. (one entry) I walk speedily across the school to my locker and dump my bag out on the ground. I toss the books I need for the morning in a pile and neatly arrange the rest into my locker in chronological order. As I step into my advisory, Alice skips up to join me: "Hi! My teacher said I could stay during homeroom." "Great! Tia asked me for help with last night's math homework, so do you want to come?" I asked. Tia had been one of my really close friends ever since kindergarten. She had a case called ADD, a disease that affects concentration and the ability to understand concepts that seem to 'click' more easily for us. I've always found it ironic that the disease literally says add, like the math term, and she struggles with basic school principles. "Why not? Let's go!" she replies as we make our way into the room. Inside, we pull up chairs and sit around her. "Hey Tia! Logan and I just wanted to stop by and see if you needed help. Logan was coming anyways, so I thought I could join. Is that okay with you?" Alice asks her. "Hi Logan. Hello Alice. Sure, the more the merrier!" Tia says with a smile. "Anyways, I needed help with number 18. Can you guys help me? I understand the problem and what it is asking, but I just can't get my head wrapped around how to do the formula." We huddled around the textbook and gave her an explanation. After multiple attempts, several examples, and various methods, Tia finally exclaims: "I think got it! So, because percents are out of one hundred, you need to multiply the one percent, 1.4, by one hundred to get the full amount. Next, you divide that number, 140, by 20 percent to get how many pencils were in the box. Is that right?" "Yep, you got it." I answer with a grin. Just as Tia scribbled her work on the page of her last problem, the bell rang. "Good job Tia! See you in Social Studies!" I call out to her. I head over across the room to Charlotte, a girl that is with me in all of my classes. "Hey Charlie! Let's go!" "Hi Logan!" I smile and walk over to the open door. Charlotte stacks up her books and grabs her water bottle, then follows me to the exit. "C'mon Charlie! We can't be late to science class. Who knows what Mr. Lewis would do if we are." I call out, waiting for Charlotte, whom I call Charlie, to catch up. Together, we join the river of people crowding the narrow hallways, each going to a different destination. After our last boring morning period, I stop by Alice's locker and wait for her to go to lunch. "Hi Alice. Tia, Charlotte, Megan, and Alexis are sitting with us today. Charlotte said she would be saving us all a seat. Unfortunately, Paige and Audrey have to catch up a test they missed last week, so they won't sit with us. Oh, and Courtney said she wanted to sit with us today so she's coming too." I tell Alice, updating her on the current events, as I do everyday. "Great! Thanks for the notice. I invited Katelyn and Nicole to sit with us. Is that ok?" "Yeah, I guess, and as Tia would say: the more the merrier!" This is how our conversation before lunch always went. Alice would invite someone at least once a week. I sometimes did as well, or people asked to be with us, although it was less common. Strangely, today was one of those days. At lunch, we gather around a circular table and start chatting. "Oh my gosh, did you see that crop-top Alyssa is wearing? It is so not passing the dress code!" "Yeah, I saw, it's SO bad" "I'm surprised a teacher hasn't punished her about it yet." "Look, there she goes! It's too tight on her too." "Eww! That's so ugly!" "Ooh, guys, did you hear that Erin is was asked out by Blake but said no? She was really bold about it too!" "Yes, I know! Crazy, right?" "She was so mad at Blake in science class a few weeks ago because he accidentally forgot to bring his part of the DNA project and made the whole group get a bad score." Drama. Gossip. It's what some girls live to do. Luckily, all that talk was from the table across from us. The 'cool kids' table. I'm glad my friends are more mature than that horrible table. "Hey Nicole, what do you do in English? Paige told me that it was really fun but didn't have the time to tell me about it because it was in the hall." Megan asks "Ooh! Yeah, it is fun! You go outside and do relay races using our vocal words. Our team won! We all got homework passes! It was really great." Nicole replies "Yay! Sounds like a lot of fun." I say. "In Social Studies, you go outside to the outdoor classroom where we do a reenactment of the battle of Fallen Timbers and we do a lesson on Chapter 11 Section 4, the test is on Wednesday." Tia exclaims "Guys, are you all done with your lunches?" Courtney asks in a whisper. We all look around and nod. "Good. Come with me to the library, I need to show you something important." She says. I cock my head and look at her with curiosity. "Shhhh. Be quiet and follow me. All of you." Courtney adds with a mysterious twinkle in her eye: "Don't worry about the teachers seeing you, believe me, they won't" Where I am From I am from beaches and mountains from reading books up on my hill. I am from the endless melouis and harchas my Mouilalla would prepare with care. From constant visits to Happy Park the cries I used to exclaim to my parents for me to go on the 'grown ups' ride. I am from constant episodes of Sofia the First and pleads to watch another one! From days spent in my room playing with my dolls covered in disney princess stickers. I am from hours of coloring and painting (My favorite canvases were the floor and my face.) From endless nightmares that left once I snuggled up in my parent's bed. I'm from broken jars and my mother telling me: "There's nothing you can do to make me love you more, and there's nothing you can do to make me love you less." I come from interminable days of school with my best friends Sabrina, Ghralia, Hannah, Natasha, and Ghita, sitting together at lunch, sucking on caramel sticks. From trips to Mamilou's cottage, where Noé and I camped for days at Stade D'Eaux Vives, kayaking, hydrospeeding, hotdogging, and paddling all day. I am from Mamilou's daily "world famous" apple pies and quiches. From mistakes, and "It takes one to know one." I am from my church, and my great heavenly Father, from my devotion to Jesus Christ. I am from love and care. From a faithful and loyal family. I am from my heritage and the blood of Jesus that flows in me. Dance Leap twirl, jump. So many expressions, Everything so memorable, you leave the crowd an impression. So free, engrossed, enjoying every move As the music begins and you shout to your worries: "flee, for I am no longer constrained in your mighty grasp!" You execute everything flawlessly, perfectly on beat, until that moment, where you fall, only to get back on your feet. Category:Period Seven Category:All Students